Will Smith visits life coach Jay Shetty with family amid Oscars ban over infamous Chris Rock slap
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: What was Will Smith up to the night of the Academy Awards ceremony this weekend? Turns out the actor, brought his family to see life coach expert Jay Shetty in Los Angeles, one year after he memorably slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 event, which earned him a 10-year-long ban from the award function.
The Oscar-winning actor, 54, stepped out with his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, as he posed with Shetty, Gammy Norris, and Lauren London at the 'Love Rules' show. A synopsis of the show reads, "Jay will take the audience on a journey of finding, keeping, and even letting go of love. Including live meditations, experiments, and demonstrations, this will be an unforgettable and transformational evening."
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What was Will Smith up to?
Smith's attendance at Jay Shetty's show is due to the fact that he no longer has the opportunity to present this year's best actor award to the winner. This decision stemmed as a result of Smith smacking Rock, which earned him a 10-year-long ban from the prestigious ceremony. For the 2023 ceremony, Halle Berry replaced Smith as the presenter of the Best Actor and Actress Oscars.
The incident happened after Rock made a joke about Pinkett Smith's alopecia-related baldness at Oscars 2022. Rock had jokingly claimed that Pinkett-Smith had a "G.I. Jane" appearance, which prompted her husband to storm up the stage and slap him, after repeating the line, "Keep my wife's name out your f***ing mouth!"
Will Smith 'still remorseful' over 2022 Oscars slap gate
Smith is "still remorseful" over slapping Rock at the 2022 Oscars and has made "unsuccessful" attempts to make amends with the comic, as per a source who spoke to People. In a recent episode of 'Selective Outrage' on Netflix, Rock tore into Will and Jada's relationship and addressed the slap.
Rock's choice to bring up the scandal in his Netflix special, according to a source close to him, was not motivated by retaliation but rather by the comedian's need to "get it all out" and "get done with it." The insider added, "Chris wanted to get this out once and for all and be done with it. This was very cathartic to him." Rock certainly did not mince his words when it came to rehashing the incident on stage, adding insult to injury by bringing up Pinkett-Smith's admitted affair with her son Jaden's close pal, musician August Alsini, in 2020. The comedian shocked audiences when he said that Smith's anger was misdirected, considering "his wife was f***ing her son's friend."
Smith has been wounded and humiliated by the Netflix special and wants Rock to "let it go," according to sources who spoke with Entertainment Tonight. According to the source, Smith was alerted of the show's contents by others who had viewed it rather than having watched it himself.